On a recent trip to Portugal, my heart sank and ached when one of our tour guides informed me of their belief. Yet, another guide left me with sweet hope.
For me, there is a difference between having a relationship with Jesus Christ and being religious/ or having religion. When people ask me if I’m religious or what religion I am, my response is usually, “I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I am a Christian.” Do you grasp the distinctness? Hmmm…one way of thinking about it may be; I religiously pray, attend church, read the bible, yet without the relationship I have with Jesus Christ, it is meaningless…more of a routine…I “have” to, rather than an I “get” to. There are various religions in the world, but I choose to follow Christ and strive to do His will according to His word.
We can read throughout the New Testament how we, in our human-nature, cannot follow the Law. We will fail. Yet, Christ came to fulfill the Law. We can follow Him. He is perfect. When you are a Christian, you have The Spirit living within you…the fulfillment of the Law. We just need to listen to The Spirit.
I say all this to share the two stories mentioned in the beginning:
Tim and I had wonderful tour guides on our trip to Portugal. When they take you to various monuments or impressive places of worship, they give a brief history and often explain the purpose of the church or monument.
Questions were posed by us regarding church attendance, Christianity, and religion. Responses varied according to their personal status or belief.
One guide mentioned how they have a bible on their bedside table, along with a Torah and a Quran. They were interested in learning about all religions. Yet, at the end of the tour, they surprised me when they said (something to this effect), “I end this tour as I end all my tours: I believe we serve One God, and I hope God blesses you today.” After their closing remark, I was hopeful. Hopeful that after all the continuous religious education they were doing with all the books bedside, they believed that there is only one God…our Heavenly Father.
Learning about multiple religions has always been intriguing to me. Go for it! Be educated, and that way you just may be more factual and confident when carrying on a conversation regarding the matter. Yet, I do pray that in the end, you will know that God is real. Heaven and Hell are real. There is only one way to Heaven, and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
This next scenario made me so proud of my man. Myself on the other hand….
We had been on this private tour for hours. Wonderful conversations were had throughout the day and characteristics from this guide were evident; love, kindness, and generosity are words I would describe this guide. As we were approaching our final site of the day, the same “religious” questions were posed by us. Our guide mentioned that they do not believe in God. When they said this, I felt my heart sink, a gulp in my throat, and eyes widened. They proceeded to explain their non-belief and were still the same kind, loving, and knowledgeable tour guide they had been all along. Tim boldly asked, “What if you are wrong?” Response occurred. Then, Tim politely said, “Well, you are wrong.” Conversation continued. I cautiously chimed in with a surface question or response, but my man was the bold one who presented the gospel to our guide. A proud wife moment occurred for me, while I was thinking to myself, “why aren’t you saying anything, Stephanie?” (Was the Holy Spirit putting His hand on my mouth and allowing my man to be the witness he needed to be? I’ll go with that. haha) When we returned back to our hotel, I commented to our guide how I pray blessings for their family and business. They spoke words of appreciation and smiled. Then, I looked at them and said, “I’ll be praying for you too.” They said, “Thank you.”
These two scenarios made me reflect on a few things:
- Learning about other religions is important.
- There are so many amazingly built churches, filled with gold, magnificent art depicting stories in the bible, rows and rows of pews for people to sit upon, yet some are void of true worship services. I do pray that individuals will walk in those decorated doors, and sense the awesomeness of The One True God, and that they will find their own time of worship as they gaze upon the grandeur of the building. May these buildings one day be filled with worshipers of Jesus Christ.
- There are so many good/wonderful/generous/kind people in the world, yet they are lost. When our time on earth is done, Hell is their destination. We (believers in Jesus Christ) need to be bold (like Tim) and share Jesus, in a loving way.
How about you? Do you shy away when confronted with the conversation of belief or lack of God, or are you bold? I pray that you will never be ashamed of the gospel (or shy away from proclaiming it), however will be faithfully fearless in sharing The Good News.
I also pray that you will not just have religion or just attend church or just live a good life, yet have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and then you will have an abundant life.
Blessings to you and yours,
Stephanie
